Vidakovic: Ceres will play its brand of football

Ahead of their AFC Cup ASEAN Zonal Finals first leg match against Singapore’s Home United in Panaad, Ceres-Negros Head Coach Risto Vidakovic addressed the media about Bienvenido Maranon’s absence and the Filipino club’s aim of staying true to their style of football.

A little over 24 hours before the kick-off Ceres-Negros FC Head Coach Risto Vidakovic and Team Captain Martin Steuble accommodated the media in their prematch press conference in Bacolod as the gaffer answered the questions thrown at him starting with top striker Bienvendio Maranon’s absence in both legs.

“For me its nothing new that Bienve (Maranon) doesnt play. We knew that two months ago already. We have already prepared without him. We have to think about the players that can play and I think we have enough supply of players that the team will not suffer in his absence.”

With regards to how his team will approach the game given the contrasting styles and taking into consideration their past clashes, the Serbian mentor quickly dismissed the previous trend given that this upcoming game is a final. However, he stressed that The Busmen are going to stay faithful to their style of play with the aim of nothing less than winning.

“I think there’s a big difference between the first game, the last game, and the game tomorrow with Home United. I think they will play the same way so we’ll have to try to play our own brand of football. It doesn’t matter what the score was in the last one. Its a new game, its a very important game. For us its a big opportunity to repeat the history.”

Meanhwile, Team Captain Martin Steuble also shared the same sentiments regarding the absence of his squad’s top forward in both ties.

“There’s always pressure in football but I think mainly we put that pressure on ourselves. We wanna give back to the people here. We want to win that final more than ever.

“Bienve (Maranon) is a big loss for us but I think the way our system is built, its not very much dependent on a single player. Someone has to step in and I’m sure he will fulfill his role completely,” added the Ceres captain.

The first leg of the AFC Cup Zonal Finals match will kick off in Panaad tomorrow Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at 7:00PM.